Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-03-31
INDUSTRIAL FRICTION.

| INDUSTRIAL FRICTION.
| Viewed from a Moral and Religious stand
| point-Duty Of the Pulpit-Mr. Powell on
| the Power and Utility Of City and Home
| Missions.
George May Powell, chairman of the
international arbitration council.
recently delivered an. address before
the Baptist Ministers Association OF
Philadelphia. He prefaced his re-
marks by saying that the organization
If which he was tae head had settled
strikes involving many millions of dol
lars of wages, with all that evolved OF
relief from hunger and cold and crime.
But they had done so more By putting
millions of pages of tracts on cOncilia-
ton, arbitration, cooperation. profit
sharing. etc., before capitalists and
iaborers than By direct appeal to
the!n in specific cases. Mr. Powell
Was most emphatic in his CLAIM that
the moral questions involved were in
comparably more important than the
millions of dollars in the material in
terests which were at stake. Strikes
and lockouts and boycotts. and other
barbarisms, were only symptoms OF
underlying moral evils which actually
imperil our National life. He treated
the whole subject as essentially one of
Christian craftsmanship. of individual
moral responsibility with every man
and woman who would be considered a
good citizen. He said:
The great industrial engine creaks
| and strains. because Of the friction.
How shall the friction be reduced?
Both labor and capital are equal part
ners. How shall we wake the better
soul in both parties? The pulpit must
preach Christianity that shall lead
people to live according to the Gospel.
We are dreaming of being carried to
the skies On fowery beds of ease. Any
thing which pinches the laborers gives
rise to friction. As to domestic service,
there should be laid aside the spirit of
caste. This is demanded by justice and
selfpreservation. No one has right
to do as he nleascs. unless he pleases to
do right. The cry mo politics in the
pulpit" is wrong. Where e's, should
politics be when politics. rs defined by
Webster. is ''lhat par OF ethics which
pertain to the public good?" We have
left politics to those who should be
jail-birds. The liquor and tobacco
bills. and pawnbroSing ste ais, should
be wiped out Laws bearing on the
hellish schemes for impurity should be
enforced, and far more stringent ones
enacted. The procurcs>, and the So
Queer should be imprisoned for life.
in some cases. Ths:aters. dance
houses, etc. exhaust the wages of
the workingman. 1t is those who have
thus wasted their earnings who make
trouble, who are Anarchists. The
money worse than wasted wOald. if
properly expended. set all the wheels
of industry in motion. To break down
the rest day of the race is to force the
toiler to do seven days labor for six
days pay. 1t is worse than useless to
reduce the hours of labor, or to raise
wages. unless the money and time
gained are wisely used.
THE brain-workers should be in
sympathy with the muscle-workers.
We are to seek the Kingdom Of God.
and then the earthly blessing of peace
would come. with temporal prosperity.
Let us realize that we are our brother s
keeper. The monopolists give ris. to
to great friction. There should be
greater facilities on the railroads for
the working classes to so at low fares
to homes in the suburbs. The worship
of the golden calf is a cause Of ut
triton. The political rulers are re-
sponsib.e to the people; not 50 the
money kings. Our exchanges have
become gambling heils. Where 6. O0O.-
600 bales of cotton arc raised. So, OO0. O00
are sod on the New York Cotton
Exchange. Similar differences appear
between the actual annual products.
and purchase and sales on the Petro-
leum and Grain Exchanges of that and
of other cities. Still more wide, and.
if possible, more morally dangerous,
are the gambling operations in railway
and other securities. Thus the moral
sense of our country is being stung to
death and the seeds of anarchy in in
dustrial and other vital interests are
being sown. Most of our cities are,
as Matthew Arnold said of Chicago
too beastly prosperous There must
be more complete balancing of moral
and material forces. The clergy must
get the laity to sCork. as well as give.
mo power on earth can compare
with city missions, and home missions
- cons:Fyators Of these evils sides